Change Default Boot Order for Grub in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat

Command-line Approach (see below for GUI approach)

Ubuntu 10.10 uses Grub 2 and with Grub 2, to change the default boot order you no longer edit grub.conf or menu.lst files located in /boot/grub folder. The file to be edited is now “grub” located in /etc/default/ folder, you can edit it by running the following command from terminal

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

The contents would look like this:

If you change this file, run ‘update-grub’ afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

To change the default boot option, you just need to change the GRUB_DEFAULT parameter. 0 is the first entry, so if you want Windows to be your default boot option which is, say at, 5th position in the grub menu, then you just need to change the GRUB_DEFAULT value to 4 and save the file and close it. If you want to change the Auto Boot preset time then you would need to change the value of GRUB_TIMEOUT parameter, it should be assigned a value in seconds and would determine the delay in seconds before grub boots the default choice, automatically. Now from the terminal run the following command

sudo update-grub

and your grub default boot order would be changed with the Windows as the default boot choice when you reboot.

GUI Approach (Thanks to Duane)

Just install the startup manager by using synaptic or running the following command

sudo apt-get install startupmanager

Now launch System > Administration > StartUp-Manager and you can change the boot order using graphical interface.

If you want to change the Grub2 theme or the background then see this post.

@Brian Carr, When it asks for password you have to enter the password, when you get this
“[sudo] password for bry” enter your user name password. Remember you won’t be able to see what you are typing, but type your password and then enter. This would open the text editor and then you can make changes. “sudo” command just executes any command with super user privilege.

Don’t worry, we all have to go through these noob days to learn and get to this level. Feel free to ask. Ubuntu is all about the community and sharing.

If you want one entry to stay default even after kernel updates you need to:
1. sudo nano /etc/default/grub
2. set GRUB_DEFAULT=”xxxx”
xxx is the name of the entry you want to be default ex: GRUB_DEFAULT=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)”
3. save
4. sudo update-grub

Thanks a lot for this post! I was in a nightmare try to solve my triple boot computer. I’m working on Toshiba Satellite T215D-SP1004M with ADM and 2 GB on ram. SO now I got W7 just for the computer drivers updates and Bios, etc. it’s a pity but Toshiba only bring us support for Microsoft Users. and some how they don’t got a clue how great this computers works with Linux like default system. So I think about Linux Mint for my basic OS on this computer, install, update and work like heaven!… but ubuntu got a lot of technical issues that we need how to fix it by our selves searching on the web. And it’s hard to find this kind of tutorials, or you got a lot of technical info with out screens like examples or a lot of just screen tutorials but for a specific kind of platforms. So I gone to translate your tutorial for my blog.

Any way have a great day and thanks… I got more to do but first need to search.

Hi,
I had a problem booting after I upgraded ubuntu 10.04 to Ubuntu 10.10 (through internet) because I deleted by error a windows partition and the system did not boot any more, so I installed again the ubuntu 10.04 (which is the one I have the CD ) and it detected the partition of ubuntu 10.10, so after rebooting it always started the old ubuntu by default and I wanted to start the new one, so after reading all entries here, I installed “startup manager” and made the necessary changes and it works fine.
so, just wanted to thank you all for what I have learned more about ubuntu.
Usamah